Shannon Elizabeth was born in Houston, Texas. While Elizabeth was in her senior year of high school, she got the chance to be in a local music video for the single "Just Can't Handle It" by Hi-Five, directed by Antoine Fuqua. Right after graduating high school, Elizabeth moved to New York to pursue a career in modeling.

After years of modeling, Elizabeth landed in Los Angeles. One of her first jobs was shooting an episode of "Arli$$" for HBO alongside Robert Wuhl. It was a few years later though that Elizabeth landed the role of Nadia in "American Pie," which garnered her a nomination for Breakthrough Female Performance at the 2000 MTV Movie Awards. Elizabeth subsequently starred in "Scary Movie." At the time, it was the biggest opening for an R rated comedy in history. In 2001, Elizabeth won the Breakthrough Actress Award at the Hollywood Film Festival.

Some of the films and TV shows Elizabeth has starred in include season six of ABC's reality competition show "Dancing with the Stars," "That 70's Show," "Cuts," "Cursed," "The Twilight Zone," "Just Shoot Me!" "Pacific Blue," "Jack Frost," "Love Actually," "Night of the Demons," "Johnson Family Vacation," "A Green Story," "Thir13en Ghosts," "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," and "The Kid & I," all allowing her to work with many directors, including Kevin Smith, Richard Curtis, Penelope Spheeris, and Wes Craven.

Elizabeth's current dreams and ventures in addition to acting include her passion for directing, writing, and producing. Elizabeth directed a music video for the artists Tha Vill and Kele Le Roc for their single "More Than Friends." Elizabeth founded Ganesh Productions and is slated to direct her first feature film called "Fated."

Elizabeth is a huge animal activist. Formerly an active part of the animal rescue community, she is now moving into animal rights, hoping to help alleviate many animal cruelty issues and end them for good.

Elizabeth also recently launched a new fragrance and jewelry line with her cousin, Tamsen Fadal. The line is called Shansen Jewelry and her fragrance is called "S" by Shannon Elizabeth. The thought behind the jewelry line was to create pieces using healing gemstones and crystals, as well as symbols that all hold high vibrational benefits and deep rooted meanings to actually enhance the life of the wearer.